Considered a pioneer of the stencil graffiti movement, Del Naja is credited with introducing hip-hop and graffiti culture to 1980s Bristol before becoming Massive Attack’s ‘creative director’. According to Williams, Banksy has spoken of his friendship with Del Naja throughout his career and even cited him as an important influence on his work.

To establish Banksy’s identity, Williams traced the correspondence between several of the Bristolian trip hop trio’s international concerts and the subsequent appearance of Banksy works in the very same cities. He discovered that Banksy murals popped up shortly before or after Massive Attack gigs on at least six occasions over the past twelve years including around the time of concert tours in Melbourne, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and Boston.

Another clue came in the form of Massive Attack’s unexpected cancellation of their headline performance at Banksy’s dystopian theme park ‘Dismaland’ in September. At the time, the band cited ‘technical difficulties’.

Contrary to Williams’ claim, both Banksy and Del Naja are said to have distanced themselves from each other. Banksy is thought to have suggested Del Naja is too old to be him while Del Naja claimed he only street painted for three years before devoting himself to his music career.

Nevertheless, Williams predicts another Banksy mural will appear just before or after Massive Attack are scheduled to appear at a homecoming concert in Bristol tomorrow (3 September).